Method of finishing shoe uppers



Patented Nov. 30, 1943 I71 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ivrn'rnoio OF FINISHING sHoE UPPERS Arthur L. Russell, Boston, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 20, 1941. Serial o. 415,704 3 Claims. (01. 12-146) This invention relates to methods of making shoes and more particularly to the finishing of the edges of shoe uppers. In the manufacture of shoe uppers the top edge is usually finished by folding the margin inwardly or, particularly in the manufacture of womens shoes, by attaching a binding strip to the outer surface of the upper and folding it inwardly over the edge thereby to provide a finished appearance on the edge of the upper. After the edge is thus treated, a lining is attached by a line of stitching near the top edge of the upper and is often trimmed during or after the stitching operation to provide an even edge which does not project substantially above the line of stitching. In the finished shoe the top edge of the lining is frequently visible and, inasmuch as it is often of a different color from that of the upper, it detracts from the finished appearance of the shoe. While various methods have heretofore been employed to conceal or render less conspicuous the top edge of the lining so as to improve the appearance of the shoe, none of these methods has been universally adopted either because of the expense involved or because of the fact that the lining does not remain permanently concealed during the life of the shoe.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of making a shoe upper in which the edge of the shoe upper is finished in such manner that the top edge of the lining is permanently concealed from View, thereby to improve the appearance of the shoe. To this end, and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the. marginal portion of the vamp or quarter from which the upper is formed is folded inwardly over a resilient, compressible cord to form an inwardly extending bead. This bead is subsequently compressed to provide a flat inner surface around the top margin to facilitate subsequent attachment of a lining thereto and trimming of the lining along a line such that after the cord is permitted to expand and resume its natural shape, the bead thus formed will conceal the top edge of the lining from view. The marginal portion of the upper material which is folded over the cord may comprise an integral portion of the upper or may be formed as a French binding strip secured thereto as is commonly employed in the manufacture of Women's shoes.

The above and other features of the invention will now be described in detail and illustrated in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view through the marginal portion of a piece of upper material before it has been folded, illustrating a compressible resilient cord associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the upper material and th hammer of a folding machine; illustrating the method of folding the upper ma terial over the cord;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the upper material illustrating theattachment of a lining thereto and the trimming of the top edge of the lining;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the marginal portion of an upper completed in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a modification in which the top edge of the upper is formed by a flexible binding strip secured thereto.

In preparing an upper in for the folding operation the edge of the uppe material is skived at 12 to'provide a feather edge l4 after which a suitable adhesive may be applied to the skived portion. A resilient, compressible cord I6 is then placed on the skived portion at a substantial distance from the edge thereof and the position of this cord may be determined by forming the skived portion l2 with a concave recess I8, although the skived portion may be flat and some other provision'made for determining the position of the cord thereon. The cord is preferably round in cross section when not under strain, as indicatedin Fig. 1, and may be formed of sponge rubber although any other similar resilient, compressible material may be employed. This cordis preferably adhesively'coatedso that it will remain in position on the skived portion of the upper material and so that the upper material will adhere thereto after it has been folded inwardly over the cord.

The upper material may then be presented to a folding machine having a hammer 20 (Fig. 2) provided with a recessed portion 22 to press the material snugly about the cord and thereby to accommodate the bead 24 formed by folding the margin of the work inwardly over the cord, and a flat work support 25 for supporting the work during the folding operation. Any convenient form of folding machine may be employed for this operation or, if desired, the fold may be formed by hand. The cord l6 may be applied to the upper material during the folding operation if desired instead of being applied to the work before the work is presented to the folding machine. The cord forms an inwardly extending bead whereas the outer surface of the upper reinside of the upper material upon the applica tion of pressure to the work by a grooved presser foot 32. The inner surface of the Work is thus maintained flat and the lining is secured thereto by stitching 34. The top edge of the lining is preferably undertrimmed while the work is in this condition by a knife 36, the trimming of the lining being facilitated by the flattened condition of the work on its inner surface. After the lining has thus been secured to the upper material and trimmed, the pressure on the bead 24 is relieved so that the cord I6 assumes its normally round shape as indicated in Fig. 4, thus causing the bead to be reestablished on the inner surface of the upper. The top edge of the lining is now' substantially concealed by the bead thus formed and the bead will remain a permanent part of the shoe. The resilience and compressibility of the cord I6 will render the bead yielding so that it will not cause discomfort to the wearer of the shoe.

' Fig. 5 illustrates a piece of upper material, the marginal portion of which is formed of a flexible binding strip 49 secured by stitching 42 to the outer surface of the upper material and then folded around the edge and over the cord It to form a bead which will conceal the top edge of the lining. This type of binding is known as French binding and is commonly employed in the manufacture of womens shoes, but it is immaterial, as far as this invention is concerned, whether the folded portion of the upper is integral with the upper or is formed as a separate binding strip, and no change is required in the process of finishing the upper when a flexible binding strip is employed.

It will thus be seen that by the use of a resilient, compressible cord over which the margin of the upper is folded as disclosed herein, an inwardly extending bead is formed which will last the life of the shoe so that the lining will be permanently concealed thereby, this result being accomplished with little additional expense to the manufacturer and producing an upper the appearance of which is greatly improved thereby. The compressibility of the cord facilitates trimming of the-lining and eliminates discomfort to the foot of the wearer which might be caused by a stiff bead.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of finishing the edge of a shoe upper which comprises placing a resilient, compressible cord on the inner margin of the upper inwardly of its edge, folding the marginal portion inwardly over the cord and pressing the inner portion of the folded margin against the upper closely adjacent to the cord to form a compressible, inwardly extending bead, compressing the cord to flatten the bead on the inner side of the upper, stitching a lining to the upper near its top edge, trimming the lining while the bead is held flattened so that its top edge will underlie the bead when the cord is allowed to expand, and relieving the pressure on the cord to permit its expansion, thereby to cause the bead to extend over the top edge of the lining and conceal it.

2. The method of finishing the edge of a shoe upper which comprises skiving the margin of the upper on its inner side, placing a sponge-rubber cord on the skived portion inwardly of the edge of the upper, folding the margin of the upper inwardly over the cord and pressing the inner portion of the folded margin against the upper closely adjacent to the cord to form an inwardly extending bead, compressing the cord and flattening the bead on the inner side, stitching a lining around upper margin to the upper while the bead is compressed, trimming the lining above the line of stitching while the bead is compressed so that after the bead is reformed the top edge of the lining will be concealed thereby, and relieving the pressure on the bead thereby to permit its reformation to conceal the top edge of the lining.

3. The method of finishing the edge of a shoe upper which comprises securing a binding strip to the outside of the upper to form a flexible marginal portion, placing a sponge-rubber cord on the inside of the upper, folding the binding strip inwardly over the cord and pressing the inner portion of the folded margin against the upper close 1y adjacent to the cord to form a compressible, inwardly extending bead, compressing the cord to flatten the bead on the inside of the upper, secur-,

ing a lining to the upper and, While the bead is compressed, trimming the top edge of the lining so that it will be concealed by the bead upon release of pressure thereon, and relieving the pressure on the bead to permit the cord to expand so that the top edge of the liningis concealed by the inwardly extending bead thus formed.

ARTHUR L. RUSSELL. 

